Pawantha Weerasinghe

Pawantha Weerasinghe is a highly promising talent who burst onto the professional cricket scene in the 2019/20 season. He made an immediate impact on his first-class debut for a star-studded Colombo side in February 2020, opening the innings with scores of 37 and 42 against a Sinhalese attack featuring Sri Lankan internationals Dasun Shanaka and Jeffrey Vandersay.

He followed up with a maiden half-century (82) and his first wicket in just his second match against Burgher Recreation Club. A solid 31 in his final appearance that season against Negombo capped off an encouraging start to his career.

Though the COVID-19 pandemic briefly halted his momentum, Weerasinghe returned to first-class cricket in 2022 and now represents Ace Capital Cricket Club. As of writing, he averages 29.18 in first-class and 24.20 in List A cricket, with notable success in T20s, where his off-spin boasts an average of 16.06.

Weerasinghe’s rise has come as no surprise to those familiar with his standout junior career. A prodigious talent from Mahanama College, he piled on 926 runs at 54.47 in 2018/19, followed by 745 runs at 43.82 and 19 wickets at 19.05 in 2019/20 during the U19 Division 1 (Two-Day) competition. He was the first player to score a double century (226) in the Singer League, added another century, and recorded best bowling figures of 7-73.

His school accolades include rankings as the 7th best schoolboy batter in Sri Lanka (2018/19), plus Player of the Match (2017), Best Batter (2018), and Best Bowler (2019) in the "Battle of the Golds" one-day series. A natural leader, he has captained Mahanama College, Colombo North District, and the Colombo U19 Super Provincial winning team in 2019.

Currently in the UK with Stayley CC, he’s continued to impress—scoring 697 runs at 38.72 and claiming 39 wickets at just 13.54, including two five-wicket hauls.